Good morning, Boulder! -- as in, wake up already. "Only by the hand of G-d does the Jewish nation exist and maintain its sanity." But we can help. Send your comments, suggestions, and submissions to zioneocon at comcast dot net.

Monday, October 13, 2003

Israeli Left Wingers Make Their Own "Agreement" with Palestinian Authority

It's like Kennedy, Clinton and Pelosi giving the national family farm to Al Qaida!

I don't usually address the ins and outs of Israeli government but this is outrageous. Sharon calls it a "catastrophe."

The agreement stipulates that the Temple Mount and most of the Old City of Jerusalem will come under Arab control. The Western Wall will remain Israeli, as will Zion and Dung Gates - but the other city gates will be under Arab control. Jews will be permitted, according to the agreement, to "walk freely" from Jaffa Gate to the Jewish Quarter.

Furthermore, the cities of Ariel and Efrat, as well as most other Jewish communities in Yesha, will be dismantled and evacuated, according to the agreement. All in all, 100,000 Jews are to be evacuated from their homes, according to Beilin/Mitzna/Burg.

The PA negotiators did not give up on the so-called "right of return," contrary to what has been publicized; the terms state that refugees will be able to live in Israel, but only with the agreement of Israel. Hisham Abdel Razek, one of the PA leaders who took part in the talks with Beilin's group, denied openly that his side had made any concessions on this issue. The Beilin/Mitzna/Burg agreement states that Israel will agree to absorb 30,000 refugees and the arrangement known as "reunification of families." The three left-wingers agreed that Israel will build two cities in the PA entity - in the Negev/Gaza and in Shomron - to house a half-million refugees.

No sane government can allow its foreign policy to be conducted by unauthorized private citizens, any more than it can allow unauthorized citizens to conduct its police or military responsibilities.

For Messrs. Beilin, Mitzna, and Burg, it comes down to this: If they want to run the affairs of state, first they must win an election. And if they want to know why they can't win an election, they need look no further than the Geneva initiative itself.

The Geneva Accord provides a possible key to the end of the conflict. It divides the land of Israel between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine in a way that each can begin a separate and sustainable existence. It declares an end to the conflict and to demands by each side and proffers solutions to all the difficult questions, among them borders, the status of the Temple Mount, control over Jerusalem, the future of the settlements, supervision of the military power of the Palestinian army, and of the armed organizations operating within it, and more . . . a sober look reveals that the principles of the accord are the only formula for reaching a reasonable compromise that will move the two peoples forward to an immeasurably better future.

Yoel Marcus in Haaretz: "Our next screw-up is all over the papers, too. And we're walking straight into it with our eyes wide shut. "

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom: "There is a government in Israel, and it deals with such matters. Everything else is virtual."

Channel One television reported on Sunday that Israeli citizens will receive a copy of the agreement in the mail. It was not revealed who would pay for the mass mailing

A formal signing ceremony is scheduled for Geneva on November 4, the anniversary of former PM Yitzhak Rabin's assassination.